Police Scotland is a shambles

Sir,– Following the release of the latest list of disasters perpetrated by Police Scotland’s call handling system, we have had the First Minister telling us things are improving.

To bolster that view, on this occasion, an Assistant HM Inspector of Constabulary was trotted out in front of the cameras. She too was adamant that things were improving while acknowledging that there was still “work to do”.

Now, in The Courier (November 11), we have an Assistant Chief Constable who attempts to reassure us that all is well, and that these errors are not systemic but are due to human error. Meanwhile the justice secretary, whom one might have expected to put in an appearance, is conspicuous by his absence.

It seems glaringly obvious that the call handling centre at Bilston Glen is still not coping with the workload it is faced with. The chance of human error increases when the workload becomes greater than can be effectively managed and corners start to be cut. To compound that problem front line officers, in Fife at least, have been reduced almost to the levels that pertained 40 years ago, so the call handler cannot action calls for want of a unit to send to them. This of course creates a backlog of calls awaiting action.

There is still an obdurate refusal by the creators of Police Scotland to accept that it is shambolic and do something meaningful about it. All of which begs the question, how many more people will have to die before the they find the courage to admit their error? George Thomson. 44 Viewforth Place, Pittenweem.